G.R. Nos. 251978-80 - ANECITA C. SUYAT, ASANO E. ABAN, AND MARCELINO P. ENDI, VS. COURT OF APPEALS, OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN, AND COMMISSION ON AUDIT.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

accordingly ordered their dismissal from the service, with cancellation of their civil service eligibility, forfeiture of their retirement benefits, and perpetual disqualification from holding public office pursuant to Section 52 of the Revised Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service. The Office of the Ombudsman also denied petitioners' motion for reconsideration in an Order dated February 7, 2017. [5] Factual Antecedents On December 1, 2003, Apolinario T. Camsol (Mayor Camsol), who at the time was the municipal mayor of Buguias, Benget, issued Memorandum No. 06 (s. 2003) which constituted the municipality's Bids and Awards Committee (BAC). This was done pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act, which was signed into law on January 10, 2003 and had become effective on January 26, 2003. Petitioner Suyat, as municipal treasurer, was included as a member of the said BAC. [6] However, Mayor Camsol subsequently issued Memorandum No. 07 (s. 2003), which suspended the functions of the BAC due to the alleged lack of "forms and annexes necessary to effectively carry out their functions as a body," [7] and deemed the old BAC as reconstituted to continue to perform its functions. [8] The BAC, as constituted by Mayor Camsol, was only restored to its functions on July 9, 2004, pursuant to Special Office Order No. 01 (s. 2004) issued by the new municipal mayor, Nardo B. Cayat. [9] On February 3, 2004, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) issued Special Allotment Release Order No. E-04-00614 in the amount of P728 Million, with the corresponding Notice of Cash Allocation No. 222447-1 in the amount of P291,200,000.00, which was intended for the implementation of the "Farm Inputs and Farm Implements Program" (FIFIP) of the Department of Agriculture (DA). The amount allocated from FIFIP to the Lone District of Benguet was P3 Million, and out of this amount P1,050,00.00 was allocated to the Municipality of Tublay, Benguet. However, the said amount intended for Tublay was subsequently reallocated to Buguias when then-Congressman Samuel M. Dangwa wrote to the municipal mayor of Tublay on June 21, 2004 about the serious delays and non-compliance by the Municipality of Tublay vis-à-vis the implementation of the FIFIP. [10] On June 25, 2004, five days before the end of Mayor Camsol's term, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) [11] was executed between the DA-Regional Field Unit (RFU) in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and the Municipality of Buguias, Benguet with the following terms: WHEREAS, the DA-RFU-CAR is the principal agency mandated to develop the agriculture sector and maximize production in the region through the promotion and provision of appropriate production support and agri-infrastructure facilities that will boost farm productivity, profitability, and resource sustainability; WHEREAS, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has allocated ONE MILLION FIFTY THOUS